Intermittent drive gearing



lv 1943. A. A. OVERBURY 2,323,415

INTERMITTENT DRIVE GEARING Filed March 18, 1943 i7 INVENTOR BY cfluazinv4 Oveflwzuy,

fl ATTORNEY! Patented July 6;, 1943 INTERMITTENT DRIVE GEARING Austin A.Ovcrbury, West Orange, N. J., assignor to Monroe Calculating MachineCompany, Orange, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application March 18,1943, Serial No. 479,621

4 Claims.

The invention relates to intermittent drive gearing wherein the teeth ofthe drive gear pass from meshing engagement with those of the drivengear following each rotation of the former so that as a result thedriven gear will be subject to some overthrow, an object of theinvention being to provide means for automatically and intermittentlyrotatably adjusting the driven gear with respect to the drive gear toinsure meshing engagement of the teeth of the gears. Other objects andadvantages will appear hereinafter or will be obvious.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combinations ofparts as hereinafter set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a plan View of the invention, with parts broken away.

Figure 2 is a right side elevation of the invention, as shown in Figurel, with parts broken away, and parts removed.

In the drawing, the numeral l designates a mutilated gear of the drumtype, having a plurality of teeth 2 (shown as thirty in number), in anunbroken series, and of variable length, there being an untoothedportion 3 of the drum between the first and the last teeth of the seriesand an untoothed longitudinal portion 3 of the drum due to the variablelength of the teeth. The teeth of the drive gear i will upon successiverotations thereof have intermittent meshing engagement with the teeth ofa driven pinion 5 whereby the latter will be subject to some overthrowfollowing each rotation of the drive gear.

The pinion 5 has longitudinal slidable splined engagement 6 with theshaft 1 thereof and may be intermitently rotated to a variable extentupon successive rotations of the drum gear dependent upon the locationof the pinion longitudinally of its shaft, inasmuch as should the pinionbe located at one end of its shaft (the left hand end as shown in Fig.1), all of the thirty teeth of the drum gear will engage those of thepinion during a rotation of the former, whereas should the pinion belocated at the opposite end of its shaft, only one of the teeth of thedrum gear will engage those of the pinion during a rotation of theformer.

In order to insure the meshing engagement of the teeth of the drum gearand the pinion following each rotation of the former, means described asfollows are provided for automatically and intermittently rotatablyadjusting the pinion with respect to the drum gear:

A locator gear 8 is fast to the shaft 1 of the pinion and is similar tosaid pinion with respect to dimensions and number of teeth. The radialdisposition of the locator gear upon shaft 7 is shown as slightlydiiTerent from that of the pinion. A double finger device or lever 9 isfulcrumed at Ii] to the stationary framing H and has one arm thereofprovided with two diverging spaced fingers 9', located upon oppositesides of its fulcrum adjacent said locator gear, said finger lever beingspring retracted and adapted upon actuation thereof successively inopposite directions by means to be described to rotatably adjust thelocator gear and consequently the pinion for the purpose stated.

A pair of plates I2 are located side by side upon and fast to the shaftI of the drum gear and have each a cam tooth l3, these teeth beingpositioned to act successively, during a rotation of the drum gear, upontwo cam teeth M f a rocker lever I5, said teeth I4 being located uponopposite sides of the fulcrum it of the rocker lever. The rocker leverhas flexible spring retracted actuating connection with the doublefinger lever 9 through the medium of twin levers H th oppositelydisposed spaced faces iii of similar arms of which contact the oppositesides of a transverse pin IQ of the tail arm of said finger lever, onearm of said rocker lever having the 'free end portion thereof locatedbetween and contacting said opposite faces G8. The oppositely disposedspaced tail arms of the twin levers I"! are connected by a retractingspring 20.

Should the locator gear and consequently the pinion be located inapproximately correct position following a rotation of the drum gear forproper meshing engagement with the teeth of the latter upon a succeedingrotation thereof so that the locator gear will need only a slightadjustment rotatably, the first actuation of the rocker lever l5 by oneof the cam teeth I3 and of the finger lever will complete the requisiteadjustment of the locator gear, and of the pinion. Should the point of atooth of the locator gear lie below the point of the finger 9 firstengaging the locator gear so that there will be clashing of finger andtooth without any rotative adjustment of the locator gear, completion ofthe first actuation of the rocker lever following this clashing by thistooth l3 contacting one of the cam teeth I 4 of said lever will resultin the actuation of one of the twin levers l1 against the tension of itsretracting spring 20 and no harm will be done due to the yielding of theparts stated. In this case, the pinion will be rotatably adjusted forthe purpose stated'by the succeeding action of the other cam tooth l3upon the other cam tooth M of the rocker lever rocking the latter andthe finger lever in the opposite direction. This is due to the spacingof the fingers 9' of the lever 9, since if one tooth of the locator gearis located in such position opposite the inner point of one finger 9 asto cause this clashing, the inner point of the other finger 9' will liein such position between two adjacent teeth of the locator gear as toefiect the requisite rotative adjustment without any such clashing orinterference.

A gear for driving the drum gear 4 is shown at 2|.

The use of this invention has the advantage of doing away with the needfor an overthrow check with its consequent drag upon the mechanism.

In addition to providing against overthrow of the driven pinion, theinvention is useful in certain applications thereof in completing apartial step of advance of the pinion. This condition may arise in caseswhere the driven pinion is moved axially during the rotation of the drumgear, so that the pinion may be shifted from engagement with a tooth ofthe drum gear at a time when a partial step of movement only has beentransmitted to the pinion. In such a case the finger device will operateto accurately 1ocate the pinion by imparting thereto a forward or aretractive movement according to the extent to which the pinion has beenadvanced by the drum gear.

A further advantage of the invention over the usual spring detent oroverthrow check resides in the provision against leaving the fingerdevice in engagement with the point of a tooth of the locator gear, thuspreventing jamming and breaking of parts.

By the use of this invention the driven pinion will be accuratelylocated during rotation of the drum gear in either direction, but theinvention is specifically designed to provide for absolutely accuratemeshing of the teeth of pinion and drum gear during rotation of the drumgear in a given direction. For this purpose the finger device, havinglocated the pinion, is Withdrawn or restored to normal position duringthe time that the longest tooth of the drum gear is coming into meshwith the teeth of the driven pinion. Thus there is no possibility of theteeth of the pinion clashing with those of the drum gear under anyconditions, during rotation of the drum gear in the given direction.

I claim:

1. The combination with intermittent drive gearing having a driven gearand a mutilated drive gear; of means for automatically rotatablyadjusting the driven gear with respect to the drive gear during theintermissions of the drive to insure meshing engagement of the gearsfollowing such intermissions including a spring retracted finger deviceand means for intermittently actuating said finger device.

2. The combination with intermittent drive gearing having a driven gearand a mutilated drive gear; of means for automatically rotatablyadjusting the driven gear with respect to the drive gear during theintermissions of the drive to insure meshing engagement of the gearsfollowing such intermissions including a spring retracted finger deviceand means for intermittently actuating said finger device first in onedirection and then in another direction.

3. The combination with intermittent drive gearing having a driven gearand a mutilated drive gear; of means for automatically rotatablyadjusting said driven gear with respect to said drive gear during theintermissions of the drive to insure meshing engagement of the gearsfollowing such intermissions including a finger device, a rocker devicehaving spring retracted actuating connection with said finger device andmeans for intermittently actuating said rocker device.

4. The combination with intermittent drive gearing having a driven gearand a mutilated drive gear; of means for automatically rotatablyadjusting the driven gear with respect to the drive gear during theintermissions of the drive to insure meshing engagement of the gearsfollowing such intermissions including a double finger device, a doublerocker device having flexible spring retracted actuating connection withsaid finger device, and means for intermittently actuating said rockerdevice first in one direction and then in another direction.

AUSTIN A. OVERBURY.

